The Heroine Fell Deeply For Her [Quick Transmigration] 232p1

Chapter 232: What’s This About Marrying First and Loving Later? 17(1)

The slender figure hid herself in a crevice between rocks, gritting her teeth and blowing out the candle in her hand.

She was taking a gamble. Today was a day of celebration, there wouldn’t be any white fog or Wandering Ghosts.

She pressed her sweaty back against the cold stone, not daring to move even though a sharp edge dug into her shoulder.

If everyone knew she was still alive, they would definitely burn her to death as an offering to appease the Mountain God.

She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she just wanted to live.

The trembling girl buried her face in her knees, shrinking back and slowing her breathing, silently praying that she wouldn’t be found by any unknown entity.

No matter who it was, she had a feeling that being found wouldn’t lead to anything good.

Just like the last time she tried to escape, despite being extremely careful, she was still found. One person died from being whipped, and the other was locked in the bride’s building.

Perhaps he would “come back to life” tonight, but Xiao Zhen would never believe he was still alive. That was just a walking corpse controlled by primal desires, not a human being at all.

But how could she care about anyone else when she couldn’t even protect herself?

Her mind a mess, to distract herself, Xiao Zhen started thinking about random things, praying to get through this.

“Boom—”

A distant rumbling sound, like something collapsing, startled the curled-up figure. She wondered what had happened.

Then the ground trembled, as if something deep within was about to be destroyed.

The fear of impending doom terrified Xiao Zhen.

While still shaken, Xiao Zhen felt someone standing in front of her.

Once this thought crossed her mind, the premonition grew stronger, her body stiffening, her blood turning to ice.

“Not bad, hiding so well, you almost made me look everywhere.”

A voice came from above, and Xiao Zhen’s heart almost stopped, fearfully looking up.

The first thing she saw was the familiar red wedding dress, thinking that the vengeful ghost of the bride had come to claim her life.

Her life threatened, Xiao Zhen panicked, but trapped as she was, there was nowhere to escape. The wound on her shoulder, where she had been scraped by the rock, bled more, staining her dark clothes.

“I didn’t mean to run away, I was just too scared… Tao Zi? Why is it you?” Xiao Zhen blinked her tearful eyes, finally seeing the person’s face clearly.

The other person was wearing a beautiful and elaborate wedding dress, her long hair styled in a bun, adorned with hairpins, clearly dressed as a bride.

Although her temperament and attire were completely different from before, the familiar face still allowed Xiao Zhen to recognize her.

Xiao Zhen, if including her surname, her name should be Qiu Zhen.

Qiu Zhen casually wiped away her tears, grabbing Tao Ning’s wide wedding dress sleeve. It was indeed made by her mother: “Why is it you? How did they actually choose you?”

She looked Tao Ning up and down. Without a light source, she couldn’t see if there was a shadow behind her.

But how could someone wearing a wedding dress still be alive? The current Tao Ning must be a vengeful spirit, unwilling to accept her death.

Tao Ning: “If it weren’t me, it would have been someone else, so I went, stabbed the fake Mountain God with a sword, saved a lot of trouble.”

Qiu Zhen, who had been blaming herself and feeling guilty, froze at these words, her tears stopping.

Qiu Zhen: “…?”

She let go of Tao Ning’s sleeve, touching her chest, then her wrist, checking her pulse.

Tao Ning asked curiously, “What are you doing?”

Qiu Zhen: “…I’m checking if I’m still alive.”

This didn’t sound real, more like her final delusion after freezing to death in the wilderness.

Tao Ning, not understanding what she was thinking at first, said kindly, “Of course you’re still alive.”

Qiu Zhen was in a daze: “I know, but what about you?”

Tao Ning: “…”

She understood. Qiu Zhen was wondering which of them was dead.

How many times had she been misunderstood in this instance?

First, the ruthless final boss, now being questioned whether she was dead or not, truly a multi-tasker.

She didn’t have time for this now, she had other things to do.

Tao Ning turned and said, “I’ve found the person, you can explain the rest to her yourself.”

Someone was walking over, their steps slow.

Qiu Zhen froze, then looked over, her eyes widening the moment she saw the person, and she abruptly stood up.

Aunt Hua, holding a wooden stick, panted: “You, you walk too fast, I couldn’t keep up.”

Tao Ning walked towards her, replying as she walked, “I’ve brought you to the place, but don’t go back to the village. Take this, when you feel lost, chant ‘break the barrier,’ and you’ll see the direction you should go.”

Lingxiu Village wouldn’t disappear just like that. It would be reorganized by the world consciousness, becoming a true deserted ghost village, waiting for the next batch of tourists.

By then, the way to clear the level wouldn’t be sending a bride to the Mountain God and surviving for seven days.

Aunt Hua took the folded talisman, hesitating: “The boat crossing the river…”

Tao Ning shook her head: “You can’t cross the river, there’s a mountain path on the other side, the two of you won’t be able to get out. Keep walking in that direction, and you’ll reach another instance… no, another settlement.”

Aunt Hua clutched the talisman, craning her neck to look in the direction Tao Ning pointed. It was dark and deserted.

Looking back at the burning village, she found the courage to continue: “Okay, I understand.”

Lowering her pointing hand, Tao Ning said, “Where you want to stay after this is up to you, I won’t interfere with the rules of any world.”

Finishing her words, she left. Aunt Hua threw away the stick in her hand and hurried over to hug the stunned Qiu Zhen.

“Xiao Zhen, don’t be afraid, it’s Mom, Mom will take you away.”

The familiar warmth and voice made Qiu Zhen break down completely. The grievances she had been holding back for days overwhelmed her, and she sobbed in her mother’s arms.

“Mom! Wuwuwu, I thought I would never see you again…”

The grass and trees brushed against the hem of Tao Ning’s red skirt as she walked.

Passing by the three hiding at the side, they all looked nervous, wanting to say something but not daring to, huddled together like a group of quails.

Finding it amusing, Tao Ning stopped, about to speak: “You…”

The three perked up, listening intently for Tao Ning’s next words.

Unfortunately, time waited for no one. The moment she opened her mouth, the timer on their watches reached zero, and the players logged out of the game world.

[Game over, congratulations on clearing “Mountain God’s Bride”]

The three, returning to the real world, woke up in different places, all saying in unison, “What did she say?”

This curiosity, even after they became renowned high-level players in the game, clearing countless instances and possessing numerous items, remained unanswered.

Because—

520 suddenly asked: [What were you about to say?]

Didn’t she know that speaking only half a sentence was like eating instant noodles without seasoning?!

Waiting for Tao Ning to finish her sentence, only to watch the three log out abruptly, its eyes wide, Tao Ning just stopped talking and was about to leave?

Tao Ning was thinking about whether Xuan Miao had finished refining the core and if her lost memories had returned, when she suddenly heard 520 speak, feeling surprised.

She asked, “Why are you online?”

Afraid of horror instances, it only dared to come online occasionally, always disappearing quickly.

Even so, every time it came online, 520 was scared witless, only daring to handle Tao Ning’s requests from behind the scenes.

520 put its hands on its hips: [Now that the real final boss has been stabbed to death by you, and the village is almost burned down, I dare to come online.]

Tao Ning felt that it not only dared to come online, but had also been online for quite a while, hearing their previous conversation.

520 urged: [Tell me, what did you want to say to those three?]

Tao Ning: “I didn’t want to say anything.”

[Ah?] 520 was confused, [You didn’t want to say anything?]

Tao Ning nodded: “That’s right.”

After a while, 520 suddenly realized: [So you were just teasing them, you really are…]

Its excited electronic voice suddenly cut off, disappearing.

The smile on Tao Ning’s lips lingered, thinking it was teasing her, and she called out, “Zero Zero?”

There was no response.

For the first time, the system in her mind didn’t immediately appear before her and answer.

“It disappeared?”

Tao Ning’s last trace of a smile vanished, her heart sinking.

Deeply buried memories resurfaced, the familiar scene unexpectedly making her panic.

That time, she had lost something very important, almost thinking she would never get it back. Now, this scene replayed, triggering her inner demons.

She subconsciously wanted to shout another string of numbers: “Zero…”

The surroundings suddenly turned cold, and the distant sound of joyful music echoed.

It was as though a ghostly wedding procession was passing in some unseen realm – the jubilant music echoed faintly, punctuated by the shrill, piercing wail of the suona.

Tao Ning looked up. At some point, the burning village was gone, the sounds of collapsing houses and the villagers’ cries also vanished.

White fog spread, hazy figures flickering within, something square being carried in the middle of the procession, its shape unclear.

A wedding procession, appearing out of nowhere, approached. Just now, they had seemed far away, leaving room to escape.

In the blink of an eye, they were almost upon her. At the front of the procession, someone held a wedding banner, fluttering with their movements.

Looking down, the one holding the banner was a paper doll with a red face and a flattering smile, its red lips grinning widely.

Not only was it a paper doll, but everyone following behind was also a paper doll.

These paper dolls looked familiar. Tao Ning quickly realized they were identical to the paper dolls burned by the villagers after the ritual.

Even the golden boy and jade girl at the back of the procession were familiar, except unlike before they were burned, now they had eyes.

With eyes, they had souls, so they could move freely, even carrying a bridal sedan chair.

The wedding procession stopped before Tao Ning, the eight-bearer sedan chair landing with a thud, its weight evident, the paper doll bearers standing still.

A paper doll in red wedding attendant attire floated to the front, saying in a high-pitched voice, “The auspicious time has arrived, please enter the sedan chair, bride—”

As soon as she finished speaking, the other paper dolls echoed, saying in unison, “The auspicious time has arrived, please enter the sedan chair—”

Then, the paper dolls stared intently at Tao Ning with their black eyes, as if something terrible would happen if she didn’t get on the sedan chair.

This scene might scare others, but not Tao Ning.

Having seen the flattering smiles on the paper dolls’ faces, Tao Ning calmly asked, “I don’t see the groom’s party, who am I marrying?”

“…”

This question stumped the paper dolls. They exchanged glances, then repeated loudly, “The auspicious time has arrived, please enter the sedan chair—”

“The auspicious time has arrived, please enter the sedan chair—”